donate a sleeping bag; save a life

The weather's getting colder here in the Northwest, but I'll be spending a cozy Thanksgiving in a warm house surrounded by family and friends.

In the earthquake-damaged areas of Pakistan and Kashmir, however, many people are fighting to stay alive as the temperature drops.

North Face Sporting Goods, in collaboration with one of the relief organizations, is sponsoring a "Gear Drop" where you can drop off your sleeping bags, tents, and other cold weather survival gear at their retail stores through tomorrow--they'll ship what you bring to Kashmiri victims. (For local readers, the local North Face store is 1023 1st Avenue in Seattle.) They're also offering a 10% discount for items that you purchase there for the relief effort.

Colleagues of mine at RIT are in the process of organizing a site to coordinate similar initiatives, at QuakeHelp.net--so if you can't make it to North Face today or tomorrow, take a look at their site over the next few days to check for other opportunities.

I'll be bringing some items to North Face in Seattle tomorrow. I hope you'll also do something to help the millions of victims in Asia. It's easy to feel bad about disasters when they happen--and equally easy to forget about them when they're not in the headlines anymore. Please don't forget about these people. You can help.